Father John Misty Swoons in His New Single “Real Love Baby”

The outspoken Indie folk artist J. Tillman opens up about being in love.

You may or may not have heard about some of the month’s controversial headlines featuring Father John Misty, the pseudonym for folk musician J. Tillman.

The ex-Fleet Foxes drummer was recently criticized by fans for his solo set at the WXPN XPoNential Festival in Camden, New Jersey, after he went on a rant about the stupidity behind the entertainment industry (and Donald Trump, as he made references to an “entertaining tyrant”). After that, he reportedly played one cover song, and abruptly left the stage 30 minutes before his set was scheduled to end. The following day, he went viral news again at the Newport Folk Festival, after revealing on stage that Chipotle offered him $250,000 to cover a Backstreet Boys song for a commercial, and that his response was “I don’t want your fucking burrito money.”

Despite his recent headline-making outbursts (most of which I feel are justified), Father John Misty’s latest song proves that— for better or for worse — his honest outpour of emotion is what makes him such a unique talent. Father John’s newest single, “Real Love Baby”, is the first since his acclaimed second studio album, I Love You, Honeybear, which came out in February of last year. Father John Misty originally unveiled the surprise track on his Soundcloud back in May, but now it’s been given an official Sub Pop release.

As you can guess from the track’s name, “Real Love Baby” is nothing short of a love song, featuring Tillman’s polished voice and guitar strumming, and topped with his giddy and heartfelt lyrics. “I’m in love, I’m alive, I belong to the stars and skies,” Tillman croons. He may be at odds with Chipotle and our political system, but hey, Father John Misty is in love, and he doesn’t care who knows it.